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#QUIT ALL TABS MICROSOFT SURFACE PC#
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#QUIT ALL TABS MICROSOFT SURFACE SOFTWARE#

Getting Microsoft software and services onto all devices, regardless of the OS, is critical (see Microsoft Edge on iPhone and Android).ĭell XPS 13 vs.

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the company is also taking more significant risks elsewhere - like Windows Mixed Reality. While I do think Microsoft is pulling back in some areas for consumers, e.g., fitness wearables, phone, streaming music, etc. Many people have yearned for – or been critical – of Microsoft 'becoming the next IBM.' The elephant in the room, of course, is that Microsoft – through Satya Nadella – is more interested in cloud and enterprise than the consumer market. A Surface Book '2' and an ARM-based Surface device, not to mention the rumored 'Andromeda' hardware for mobile, are all on expected to be released by Microsoft in the coming year. Surface Laptop was a device they could have nixed, and not much would have changed. If Nadella and the Microsoft board were so down on Surface as a brand canceling Surface Laptop before its release would seem to be a given if any of this were true.

Lastly, we should observe that Surface Laptop doesn't even create a new device category. These remarks are relevant because they are not just push back against the idea of them dropping Surface, but a precise and strategic rationale for why they must continue to make their own hardware. (The same criticism could be applied to Microsoft Windows Phone too, where a 'hero' device from the company early on may have led to a different outcome). In comes Apple with the iPad and the rest, as they say, is history. Instead, they left the hardware to Microsoft's partners, and they blew it. Nadella rightly criticizes former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and co-founder Bill Gates and the earlier attempt at Windows tablets (pre-Surface) where the company merely made the software. Nadella also believes in the company making its own hardware because of lessons learned in the past. Examples like Surface Studio, HoloLens, the original Surface, and Surface Book come to mind. It's Alan Kay who said 'if you're serious about your software, you make your own hardware.' I think there's some truth to it.īeing more specific, Nadella notes that to create new device categories with new software experiences they need to do that themselves. Nadella specifically noted that Microsoft must continue to make its own hardware. Satya Nadella (Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)īut putting conjecture aside, all we must do is look back a week ago at what Satya Nadella told Bloomberg during an in-depth interview. Not only would that be ill-advised, but it could also be illegal as a form of collusion. Microsoft's Surface plans are well-kept secrets, and the company does not share its hardware plans with its partners.

#QUIT ALL TABS MICROSOFT SURFACE PC#

If anything, you dear reader are more informed about Microsoft's upcoming Surface plans through reading this site than most PC OEM CEOs. From personal interaction with many of these same companies, I can tell you they had no idea about the Surface Laptop before it was announced and were caught off-guard. Second, it should be evident that none of these executives, despite their business titles are operating with any insider knowledge of Microsoft's Surface plans. There is some hubris here, too, I think as these companies do not appreciate Microsoft outshining them or do not believe that they are, just as the CEO of Palm once dismissed the prospect of Apple making a smartphone.Ĭreating fear, uncertainty, and doubt is a crucial disinformation strategy, and these are not impartial players. The thought that these same companies want Microsoft to back out now is biased as they all have a vested interest were it to happen.

They and others all make Surface clones with their improvements. Lenovo and Dell have a vested interest in softening Microsoft's Surface impact on the PC business. Indeed, there should be some caution when reading those quotes. (Image credit: Windows Central)Įver since Surface was announced in 2012 rival PC companies have doubted its success, or downplayed its significance (while at the same, riding the wave of creativity and renewed PC passion with their own products). For years, analysts have questioned if Microsoft should retain - or sell off - its Xbox brand.

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